Unboarded indoor soccer

they have a facility here called the summit. Same idea, and I like it, its good practice. Can be found here www.capitalcentre.com

 

If you can find it, it is called Futsal. You play on an unboarded field with a heavy, almost dead ball. It is denser than a regular ball. This eliminates the ball out of bounds all the time. I also think the size of the field is smaller and you play 5v5 or 6v6. It's great for foot skills and thought process. Most of, if not all of the play is on the ground and it improves vision and passing. They have a wed site, I think it is Futsal.com. It's big on Long Island and probably in the tristate area. Also try www.thebackofthenet.com to locate an agent for the Futsal Association.

 

same facility here in Connecticut in Granby (http://www.nctsoccercenter.com/). I've played there through a couple of season and it's a nice surface although the shavings in the turf (I believe it's shaved up tires - looks like mouse turd) gets all in your socks and shoes. There was talk of a new outdoor soccer complex that was going to also have one of these fields for outside play (I went to the public hearing but it didn't win the referendum).

 

The facilities these guys are talking about is not futsal...they use a regular ball.

We have a facility in Cherry Hill. It sounds exactly like the ones you have described. I've played there a lot. As a player, I actually have more fun with the boards (keep in mind I play a lot of outdoor, too, so it just might be the variety factor). But the no-board indoor is really enjoyable...a surprisingly fast pace of play develops, and the ball doesn't go out of bounds nearly as much as you'd think.

My big gripe locally--they play 6v6 (inlcluding the keeper), the the pitch is too crowded. I'd like to see them go to 5v5 and open the field up a bit.

 

There's a place near me that plays without boards, but with a net on one side (the outside wall of the facility is the other wall, but there's a touchline and player benches in front of it) and grasstroturf. The way it's set up and the field laid out, it's actually closer to playing outdoor soccer indoors (I think we used a size five ball, but I'm not 100% sure), and the pace was less frenetic than true indoor because you have to use outdoor tactics, just in a smaller area. I quite liked it as a 'keeper.

Now I'm playing indoor at another facility, a traditional one with walls and a size four (and after playing outdoor since March with a size five, the ball seems ridiculously small and easy to get a bead on) and the pace is as I remember it. And it's on carpet, not grasstroturf.

Just for Kicks in Plainfield, IL is the one with the net. Play USA in Aurora, IL is the one with the walls.

 

indoor without boards.

i recently trained in Finland, last Feb. '02, with HJK in Helsinki, and because of the harsh winters, their soccer is played indoors on an astro/sport turf - like surface, without boards, full sided, outdoor ball and molded shoes. the surface was not as stable as the new sport turf on our american football fields, but was much softer and more comfortable than the present 'astroturf.' i would highly recommend full-sided, sport turf, indoor soccer to replace the current indoor soccer because its more like the outdoor, 'real', game, just indoors. 5v5 or 6v6 on a bigger field, without boards, and indoors...that would be cool.....

 

The one in CT is 5 v 5 and we use a size 5 ball. We use outdoor goals, just a smaller size. Probably 6 1/2 feet high about 15 feet wide, but don't quote me on those specs. Nets are on the sides about 3 feet after the sideline and are just to keep the balls from spraying around. As a side note, we also use a size 5 in "regular" indoor.